Some of you know of my love of comic books – or for the more academic term coined by Will Eisner and popularized by Scott McCloud – sequential art. A tight narrative that weaves around colourful characters, coupled with the artist’s dazzling imagination captured in pencil and ink, and highlighted by moody shades and hues: this is perfection.

So is a nicely grilled steak. And an ice cold beer on a hot day. And the view when day breaks on some picturesque landscape, rays of sunlight peeking over mountaintops like curious toddlers, quickly flooding the valley with warmth and life. But I digress….

Like other media that rely on physical formats, there has been much ballyhoo about how comics will survive in the digital world. Is that the sinister visage of Herr InterTubez, cackling with unbridled joy at the inevitable death of my beloved artform? One particular response is this meditation on storytelling, which literally explodes off the page and explores the electronic medium. It entertains and challenges the mind simultaneously, like caviar for your mind.

Pushing boundaries don’t have to happen through the delivery mechanism. A primary vehicle that makes you stop with unexpected clarity is content. New and bold ideas are often explored through fiction, especially within works of the science fiction variety. One of my current online reads is Escape From Terra, a webcomic that looks at how society might evolve in the future. The current arc has introduced an intriguing character, who develops “disruptive technologies” for the common good. His latest invention are “plants that will yield meat genetically identical to cows, chickens, fish and everything else.”

Meat seeds.

Just imagine for one second if we had meat seeds today. This is different than growing meat from a petri dish – which somehow conjures up images of mad scientists, and makes people squeamish. Instead you can sprinkle these seeds on the ground, water and tend them, and soon you’ll be harvesting gourds full of chicken-y flavour. Where do I sign up?

The ills of the world are being solved in the fantastic realms of artists. When will everyone else catch up?

My RSS reader has over 1,000 unread items. My inbox is never down to 0. I’ve got stacks of books I’ve been meaning to read. TV shows I need to watch, bands I need to listen to.

Doctor, doctor, I think I’m suffering from information overload – there’s too much data and not enough time to sort and analyze. The constant stream of status updates, tweets and ticker feeds are bombarding my senses.  It’s like I’m standing at the bottom of a waterfall with a paper cup, vainly trying to fill it up.

Reminds me of Blur’s Out of Time chorus:

And you’ve been so busy lately
That you haven’t found the time
To open up your mind
And watch the world spinning gently out of time

Worry not though, there’s a breath of fresh air out there, and it actually comes from my twitter feed. It’s the people I follow who tweet once in a while, once every 2 weeks at most. And it’s usually an update letting me know where they’re going to be, what they intend to do. No sharing of links, no snarky commentary, no self-advertisements.

More of that would be nice. So would shutting off my data stream tap. But I’m too addicted to the ebb and flow of information – I’m a proud card-carrying member of the 21st century hyper-reality meta-nation called the Internet.

I came across that question in the current issue of Monocle – and it got me pondering. While we’re very conscious of what we put in our bodies, what about the stuff we upload into our minds? Sure, we count calories but how many of us actually measure the content?

Wired recently posted a neat illustration that divides one’s media intake by type and by time spent. While this methodology recalls the food pyramid we’re taught at a young age, it does beg the question: is this breakdown actually healthy? While we can debate about whether 3.5 hours of entertainment is optimal, I think we need to examine the types of media we consume. To use the food analogy, it’s not only the number of servings of each food group that matters, but also where you’re getting your vitamins, carbs and proteins.

Before knowing how much media to consume, we need to determine what makes a mind healthy. Being able to recall memorized facts doesn’t make you smarter; it’s the contextual application of that information that matters. Accepting everything as truth is also dangerous; an inquisitive mind knows no boundaries and is open to all possibilities. Regardless of the medium, all content is flavoured with bias, slant and spin. Waiter, waiter, what’s this opinion doing in my media soup?

I think that the various media consumption diets you can find online miss the point: it’s not where you get your media, it’s the content that counts. What’s the breakdown between news and opinion from left-wing or right-wing sources? Are you entertained by only Hollywood blockbusters, or do you also enjoy indies, documentaries, and foreign flicks? Are the books you hope read all on a single topic, or are there fiction of all genres, philosophical treatises and gripping biographies?

As you have (hopefully) deciphered by now, I’m of the belief that it’s better for your media diet to be filled with variety. A quick look at my library, iPod, feedreader and delicious account and you could say that mine is eclectic. I would get bored getting fed the same information, day in and day out.

Take a look at your media diet, and if you find things are stale, try something new. A little bit of experimentation will make a world of difference.

My friend and former colleague Kirsten asked me to contribute to her fitness blog, so here’s what I wrote:

When encountering martial arts, most people think of karate or taekwondo, where boys and girls proudly sport their white gis and colourful belts. Or they’ll remember their favourite Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li movie (Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme will also suffice).What they might not realize though is that martial arts are an excellent way to get into great shape and ultimately live a better life.

That was the main reason why over the last year and a half I’ve been training in Muay Thai, a combative martial art known as “The Art of Eight Limbs.” Also called Thai Kickboxing, Muay Thai practitioners use their hands, elbows, shins and knees as their weapons. If you saw the movie Ong Bak, you have a good idea of how devastating Muay Thai can be!

I train at Old School Muay Thai and we recently moved to a new location near Richmond and Duncan. While some of us want to try out our skills in the ring, the fitness benefits of Muay Thai are undeniable. Here’s a sample workout that I recently did:

• 30 minute run, about 5 km

• 10 minutes of skipping rope, with 15-second intervals of speed rope every 45 to 90 seconds

• 5 minute stretch, from head to toes

• 45 minutes of plyometric and calisthenic exercises, including:

  • 80 pushups

  • 120 situps/crunches/ab workouts

  • 80 squats and lunges

  • jumping jacks, knee tucks, bunny hops, burpees etc.

• 10 minutes of shadow boxing

• 40 minutes of hitting pads, bags, sparring and other technique exercises

Using a quick online calculator, that workout apparently puts me at a total of about 1500 calories burned… and I try to train at least 3-4 times a week. It’s pretty common knowledge that dedication to any fitness regiment will garner results in time, but I was still pretty amazed to see my belly shrink, extra fat disappear, increased endurance and better muscle definition. I know I’ve got a ways to go before eliminating the beer belly I so diligently worked on during my college years, but I’m confident that Muay Thai will help me do it.

Our gym is great for all skill levels, and particularly for beginners. There are a number of senior students (myself included!) who will help tune your technique and provide motivation during the grueling exercises. We have an all beginners class on Tuesday evenings, while Mondays and Wednesdays are mixed classes. Check out the website for the full schedule.

One final word: don’t be intimidated! The first time I tried out Muay Thai, my entire body was sore for a couple days, but I knew I needed more. I get an adrenaline rush every class, and there’s something very satisfying about hitting a punching bag… especially after a long and stressful day in the office!